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Re: Last movie you watched

I don't think showing aliens softens the sci-fi. The laws of physics & chemistry that biology are based on are the same throughout the universe. The eye evolved on Earth independently several dozen times... convergent evolution. So I'm fine with depicting aliens, and the ones in Arrival were at the upper end of good sci-fi aliens. It's the "seeing into the future via reading a foreign language" aspect that "softens" the sci-fi. It's a BIG magic bean to swallow, for me anyway. If they had some fancy wormhole tech that enabled time travel or something, that'd be more plausible.

Arrival pushes Whorfianism way past breaking point - another language not just changing the way you think, but breaking the laws of physics in the process.

And there's the so-called "Liberal" Hollywood pushing the "abortion&trying again=bad" aspect. An alternative decision where Amy Adams decides to have another healthy child that leads a long happy life free of suffering is not considered. Princeton philosopher Peter Singer pushes this idea as ethically preferable, but I've never seen it taken up, even in Indie movies.

Re: Last movie you watched

Yeah, the last Jason Bourne was obviously a naked cash grab. The story has long since run itself out. In the past, this shit would have been straight-to-video. There was even a declaration a few Bournes ago - "we won't do another one (except if there's a compelling story)". And this ain't it. The best acting of Matt Damon's career is trying to sell this on the PR circuit.

Exactly the same with Jack Reacher 2 - which has even more of a straight-to-video / TV movie about it.

These days if there's any goodwill left in a franchise that studio execs can quantify, then they'll run it into the ground.

Re: Last movie you watched

Good grief, ya'll need to lighten up. Though, Squiggly, sorry about your car. Deer suck. Did you at least get some meat?ZootopiaLate to the party, and I don't care. This movie trades in Disney tropes, mocks them and fulfills them as well.

The protagonist is the likable Judy Hops, determined to be the first rabbit police officer. She meets resistance from pretty much everyone, and is desperate to prove herself. Along the way, she meets Nick, a fox who is the sarcastic cynic to Judy's optimism.

The film is a lot of fun, has a tone of inside jokes, and allusions to other movies, as well as some touching themes. It's on Netflix right now, so go watch it.

Re: Last movie you watched

fireproof78 wrote:

The film is a lot of fun, has a tone of inside jokes, and allusions to other movies, as well as some touching themes. It's on Netflix right now, so go watch it.

Ditto. I think Zootopia is my fave film of 2016. As for inside jokes - as a former longtime resident of Tujunga, CA, I loved the completely random reference to how nobody outside Tujunga seems to know how to pronounce Tujunga.

Re: Last movie you watched

Saw The Great Wall. Doesn't offer as many opportunities for such disturbing images, but I really enjoyed it nonetheless. I din't watch enough Chinese cinema to say that it definitely felt like a Chinese film vs. a Western one but it definitely had its moments. (I'm aware it's a Chinese production but I'm curious how much, if at all, it was Westernized in shooting.)

Boter, formerly of TF.N as Boter and DarthArjuna. I like making movies and playing games, in one order or another.

Re: Last movie you watched

Trey wrote:

fireproof78 wrote:

The film is a lot of fun, has a tone of inside jokes, and allusions to other movies, as well as some touching themes. It's on Netflix right now, so go watch it.

Ditto. I think Zootopia is my fave film of 2016. As for inside jokes - as a former longtime resident of Tujunga, CA, I loved the completely random reference to how nobody outside Tujunga seems to know how to pronounce Tujunga.

That was a fun pit. I also love that Alan Tudyk played a weasel, selling bootlegged films, and on and on.

Re: Last movie you watched

To honour Bill Paxton I'd thought I'd see a few of his movies that I missed the first time round.I chose A Simple Plan, Near Dark, and Frailty (which he also directed)

Out of these, Raimi's A Simple Plan is probably the most solid. Paxton is the lead for a change and carries it well. There's a slight resemblance to Fargo - as what should have been a straightforward crime caper spirals out of control. It's all plausible up to the end, when the resolution requires the plot/characters to strain slightly too far into melodrama. Decent cinematography, and career-best acting from Paxton. 8/10

Near Dark - apparently it's a cult movie now, probably among people who grew up with it. Seeing it now after a decade of vampire movies, it feels a little cheap. Old vampires lead a precarious itinerant life.. drifting vagabonds. A bit implausible. You'd think you'd have a routine down pat after a few decades where you're not going to caught outside when the sun rises. And a nice compound interest bank account. James Cameron's Aliens' buddies are also in it (Lance Henrikson and Jenette Goldstein) and the WIKI page says Cameron Himself (Praise Be Upon Him) makes a cameo but I couldn't find it. Cameron's 3rd wife directed it (Kathryn Bigelow) with lots of cliched '80s night lighting (unmotivated harsh blue backlighting, smoke, etc) and slushy synth score. The leads are bland, and it suffers from a small budget that limits the action. They blew the money on flame effects. After it was over, I had the reaction "is that it?" - a very slight story. Paxton's over-the-top over-acting is a highlight. 6/10

Frailty - a twisty murder-mystery starring Matthew Mcconaughey. it's got the same structure as Usual Suspects where one unreliable narrator tells a story. Paxton plays a religious lunatic on a demon-killing crusade that involves his sons in the ritual murders. Feels like a TV movie (a la Stephen King) at times. More 80s-esque unmotivated lighting in that rose garden. I can understand why he didn't pursue his directing career. Few actors successfully make the transition to directing. 6/10

All three are worth seeing if you're a Paxton fan, but if you need to pick just one, go with A SIMPLE PLAN.

Any other Paxton films worth seeing (other than the obvious Cameron collaborations)???

Re: Last movie you watched

"What the fuck?"

Yes, strange premise. The trailer promises the weirdest film you've seen in a while: Paul Dano stranded on an island, finds a dead Daniel Radcliffe whom through bonding he can slowly bring back to life (and be multi-purpose: work as a fart-propelled speedboat, shoot stuff from his mouth, you name it).

Yes, it is that weird. But behind all this is a very deep film about embracing your weirdness and every part of you you're repressing in front of a judging society. It is a very intimate indie movie brilliantly acted, absurd, and dramatic. The directors said they wanted to make a movie where "the first fart makes you laugh and the last fart makes you cry." I think this nicely encapsulates what this movie is: much more than a 1h37 fart joke.

Re: Last movie you watched

Logan is very unusual for an X-Men movie, maybe even more so than Deadpool. It manages to weave elements of a western, a road movie and a character drama quite skillfully (to use a cliché, it transcends the comic book movie genre). Some even call it Marvel's Dark Knight.

Easily the most mature film of the series, a huge improvement over the fairly formulaic X-Men: Apocalypse. Definitely worth seeing.

Re: Last movie you watched

"The Jungle Book"The more recent live action adaptation of a beloved Disney classic based upon a book, this film is quite well done. More so than just being a substitution of live action instead of animation, the film has its own narrative, that builds upon Mowgli's developing in to a greater awareness of the world. All the characters have their own unique feel, and even minor, bit parts, provide a great atmosphere of a lived in world.

While I enjoyed all of the casting, Idris Elba stood out as Shere Khan, and Christopher Walker as King Louie. It's also worth it to watch the credits as Walker delivers his rendition of "Want to be like You."

The film also does not dip in to musical territory. Instead, any songs that are sung come from the narrative, rather than being forced in over the story.

Finally, I really did not expect it to end the way it did, and it is certainly was a well done film. It's on Netflix in the US, so hopefully y'all get a chance to enjoy, if you haven't already and I'm just behind.

Re: Last movie you watched

MartyJ wrote:

Logan is very unusual for an X-Men movie, maybe even more so than Deadpool. It manages to weave elements of a western, a road movie and a character drama quite skillfully (to use a cliché, it transcends the comic book movie genre). Some even call it Marvel's Dark Knight.

Easily the most mature film of the series, a huge improvement over the fairly formulaic X-Men: Apocalypse. Definitely worth seeing.

I agree. Saw it opening weekend, absolutely loved it. Great way for Jackman and Stewart to say farewell to their respective roles. I wouldn't say all comic book movies should share this tone or be this intense. I think I like having the fun Marvel movies we're used to. But movies like this certainly are a wonderful break from the monotony of action-driven blockbusters. It's icing on a cake.

I really think Logan could be compared to a game called the Last of Us. This movie technically doesn't take place in a post-apocalyptic world (well, ok, in a way it does HUEHUEHUE), but it does for mutants. It's a story of a small handful of mutants just trying to hang on to their lives and humanity by a thread.

I highly recommend to anyone who was on the fence. While, on the whole, I don't think the X-Men movies are as good as the MCU films, I give them credit for taking more risks, whereas MCU movies tend to stick with a formula.

"I solemnly swear I am up to no good." - Han Solo, Terminator 2: With a Vengeance

Re: Last movie you watched

What's the usual pallet cleanse between films?

"Central Intelligence"

If you saw the trailer at all, then you have a pretty good idea of what the film will be about. However, what saves this film from being a paint by numbers buddy-cop comedy is the chemistry between Johnson and Hart. The two play very well off of each other and have a lot of fun with a pretty typical flick.

I had a lot of fun with it, with several laugh out loud moments. If you don't watch it, at least search for the blooper reel. That was a lot of fun too.

Re: Last movie you watched

As much fun as the two guys were having, I thought Danielle Nicolet (Hart's character's wife) was great in it. She played a great character, especially during the couple therapy session.I think the only thing that kept it from being a solid fun movie for me was Johnson's dumb act. It was fine until his full intentions were revealed, but then it played completely wrong. If his character had been just acting the ditz, fine, but afterward we should've seen him sober up a bit. Funny as it is to say, I think johnson is too smart to play dumb very well. Maybe it just didn't work for this movie, though.

Re: Last movie you watched

Writhyn wrote:

As much fun as the two guys were having, I thought Danielle Nicolet (Hart's character's wife) was great in it. She played a great character, especially during the couple therapy session.I think the only thing that kept it from being a solid fun movie for me was Johnson's dumb act. It was fine until his full intentions were revealed, but then it played completely wrong. If his character had been just acting the ditz, fine, but afterward we should've seen him sober up a bit. Funny as it is to say, I think johnson is too smart to play dumb very well. Maybe it just didn't work for this movie, though.

You're right. Danielle Nicolet was fantastic and the therapy scene was hands down one of my favorites.

I agree that Dwayne Johnson's ditz bit was hard to swallow, but I also think he was trying to be insecure, which also does not fit him. But, I loved the ending.

Re: Last movie you watched

I couldn't disagree more on the characters. I thought each one had a good motivation and a good arc. But that's me.

I couldn't disagree more with either of you. Sorry, I thought that was just saying

I didn't like Saw at all, and felt he was a wasted character, especially for just being in Act 1, especially for how disjointed Act 1 was in editing. The rest of the characters were mixed, and while I didn't "like" most of them, I could at least appreciate their arcs and wanted to see the Rebels succeed-which is more than I could say for the Jedi in the PT.

That said, I do agree with Writhyn that the characters were at least interesting enough to keep me engaged in the film.